On view
Ancient Mediterranean Art
Ring with Chi-Rho monogram of Christ,
6th–7th century
Early Byzantine
y1954-148
Early Christian imagery conveyed the emerging religious doctrine and narratives centered on the life and teachings of Christ and his followers. Depictions of holy figures, Christ’s crucifixion and the cross, the Chi-Rho Christogram, and the alpha and omega adorned the surfaces of churches, liturgical objects, and jewelry—all tangible signs of devotion. As Byzantine theologians promoted touch, sight, and proximity to sacred objects within the context of a religious system that was largely abstract and invisible, objects designed to heighten multisensorial experiences, like censers filled with aromatic incense or oil lamps and candles that gave off flickering light, became critical to the creation of a liturgical setting. Workshops emerged across the Mediterranean to produce Byzantine objects with lavish materials like metals and gems in order to express the emerging theology of the empire.
Information
Title
Ring with Chi-Rho monogram of Christ
Dates
6th–7th century
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
diam. 2.0 cm (13/16 in.)
bezel: d. 0.1 x diam. 1.1 cm (1/16 x 7/16 in.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase
Object Number
y1954-148
Place Made
Eastern Mediterranean
Period
Type
Materials
Subject
Purchased from Margaret Burg, London, in 1954.
- "Recent acquisitions", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 14, no. 1 (1955): p. 17-19., p. 19
- Slobodan Curcic and Archer St. Clair, Byzantium at Princeton: Byzantine art and archaeology at Princeton University: catalogue of an exhibition at Firestone Library, Princeton University, August 1 through October 26, 1986, (Princeton, NJ: Dept. of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University, The Art Museum, Princeton University, Princeton University Library, Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections, 1986)., no. 171; p. 145
